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Slay some vampires and download Bloodmasque on iOS for free this week
The snow is falling and you know what that means? Vampires! The creepy, face-stealing action RPG Bloodmasque has gone free for one week in honor of Halloween Christmas... for some reason. The game lets you put your own face on the main character, a half-breed vampire hunter, and for a limited time, there are bonus holiday-themed "hunts" available. The game is normally US$6.99, so if you're even marginally interested in the idea of slicing bloodsuckers wide open, it's worth a download. If you're not quite convinced yet, feel free to check out our full review of Bloodmasque to learn more.
Bloodmasque shows its face on iOS for free this week
To celebrate over 500,000 downloads, Square Enix's vampire hunt-em-up, Bloodmasque, is free on iOS this week. The app will be a free download until midnight on December 16. Bloodmasque is set in the nineteenth century, in the vampire-ruled city of Paris. As a champion of justice, you must sweep the streets of bloodsuckers as you recruit other players into your army of would-be stakers. The game, compatible with iPhone 4S, iPad 2 devices and above, features a photo-based character creation system where you can put your face into the game. We wonder what would happen if Wesley Snipes tried to put himself into the game?
Bloodmasque free for a week on iOS
Bloodmasque, which we've yet to conclude is pronounced as blood-MASK or blood-MAS-que, is currently free for iOS devices until Midnight on November 7. The game has also added the "Hunter Rankings" feature, which is a set of weekend challenges for in-game items. The Vampire-hunting app features French maid vampires. That's servants of darkness wearing French maid costumes, not blood-suckers made in France. Anyway, the Unreal Engine-powered game also features "photo-based customization" and is regularly priced at $6.99. Now you can save that $6.99 for in-app purchases.
Daily iPad App: Bloodmasque will steal your soul... and your face
The newly-released vampire RPG brawler Bloodmasque is yet another game in the strange sub genre of iOS apps that think they are full-fledge, console-quality releases. You may already be familiar with other games in this niche including Infinity Blade, Rage, and the recently released Deus Ex: The Fall, but Bloodmasque is an even more ambitious experiment thanks in large part to its ability to actually put you in the game. When you first embark Bloodmasque's dark adventure - which tasks you with ridding the world of vampires, while you yourself are partially afflicted with the condition - the game prompts you to take a photo of your own face to be used on the primary character. Getting the right lighting is key here, but if you manage to grab a decent snapshot you can actually craft a rather impressive digital replica of yourself. Of course if you'd rather enjoy the additional level of escapism you can simply choose a pre-rendered face instead. The combat gameplay in Bloodmasque is rather basic and fights are a mix of swiping to dodge, tapping to attack, and launching devastating special attacks when the time is right. The action plays out with cinematic camera angles and plenty of flash, and the game's Unreal Engine-powered graphics flow smoothly with only the very occasional hiccup. As you progress you unlock new areas of the city to explore, new weapons and armor to equip, and, of course, new bits of the story. All told the game takes between 10 and 15 hours to complete, with additional challenge quests hidden beyond the credits. It's the kind of game you can play in either short bursts - individual battles can be completed fairly quickly - or in marathon sessions where unlocking gear and bettering your character becomes the primary focus. In short, Bloodmasque, as a game, is quite fantastic, but there is one "feature" that actually holds the title back from being a must-have: The recruitment of other players' characters to your party. When you're offline your character doesn't rest, and he or she can embark on quests with other players around the world. While this sounds kind of neat, it means that playing the game requires an internet connection at all times. Because of this, taking my wifi iPad on a road trip - or on a flight, for example - means I can't play Bloodmasque at all. Period. If you attempt to play the game without an internet connection you are given a network error and the game will force you back to the title screen. That's a pretty big bummer for the many iPad owners who are perfectly content taking their tablets offline. Despite that one - possibly deal-breaking - issue, Bloodmasque is a great iPad game that rivals PC and console games for its story, depth, and fun factor. If you don't care about the offline play issues, it's an easy recommendation.
Bloodmasque from Square Enix available now on iOS
Vampire-hunting app Bloodmasque from Square Enix is available to make the night safe once again on the Apple App Store. The Unreal Engine-powered game featuring a "photo-based character customization experience" can be staked for $6.99. Mmmmm, steak. Square Enix notes "full completion" of the game takes about 20 hours, with more combat trials after completing the game. However, if you're spending that much time on the toilet playing iPhone games, please seek medical attention. We assure you something is wrong.%Gallery-191795%
Square Enix dons its Bloodmasque on iOS this summer
This summer, Square Enix will launch a vampire-hunting app on iOS called Bloodmasque. Set in 19th century Paris, Bloodmasque tasks players with ridding the town of vamps in this Unreal Engine-powered game anchored by a "photo-based character customization experience." Square Enix snatched up domains for Bloodmasque back in January, tipping us off to the new iOS game and sadly ignoring our most excellent suggestion for an Edgar Allan Poe game. It's okay, Square Enix; we're just going to put on our Crymasque and go sit in the corner for a while.%Gallery-191795%
Square Enix uses your face for action in Bloodmasque
Square Enix's Bloodmasque was undoubtedly the strangest game I saw at E3 last week, and in a year defined by indie titles and two new HD consoles, I think that's saying something. Square Enix has had a weird time with the App Store -- other companies like Capcom and EA have found a lot of success in smaller titles, but Square Enix has clung to its own console traditions, releasing relatively large and high-quality, high-production titles for a relatively high cost. Bloodmasque follows this trend (though the price has yet to be announced just yet), and it also brings one weird little twist that was actually more charming than I expected. The game is based in an alternate universe, sort of steampunky version of Paris in 1890, where an empire of vampires (yes, a vampire empire) rules the world. One plucky adventurer has the guts and the magical powers to stand up to those empires, and that adventurer is you. Literally you, I mean, because the game scans your face, and then inserts it right on to the main character. That's me and my character above, though keep in mind that this was day three of E3, so if I look a little tired, that's why. The face-scanning thing is a gimmick, and yet strangely it works: After my face was scanned in and my hair was tuned to the right shape and color, I watched as my character (a little more fit than I am) saved a damsel in distress, and carried out a vampire fight scene. I tapped to attack, swiped to dodge and then when the vampire was almost dead, pulled off a jumping leap and staked him right in the back of the neck. You can actually record three different faces, so you get one frowning, one standard and one smiling. Each of them can look very different, which can make the animation a little strange. Even under the best of conditions, the face looks weird and a little creepy, sure, but I could tell it was me, so I guess that's the point. Bloodmasque itself is really just a series of missions, which you navigate around via an overworld map. There's a light social game built on it as well -- you can choose two friends to join you in battle scenes, and their faces will also show up on screen as you play (you can elect to keep your face private, if you like, or you can choose a premade face if you're not interested in showing your mug to the world). Your friends get bonuses when you use them in battle, and vice versa, so having an oft-used mug will earn you more blood for upgrades and XP for missions. There are exploration levels, too, but I found them pretty bland, unfortunately. We'll have to wait until the full game arrives to see if the story pulls us in at all. But the setting is distinct (steampunk is always a plus), and that face gimmick makes for a very interesting twist indeed. If the combat can sustain the fun, Bloodmasque could be a riotous way to put a character together, featuring your very own look. Square Enix seems attached to the idea that selling premium games at a premium price will work, and I'm not one to disavow them of that, especially as lots of other companies race towards the bottom. Bloodmasque should be an interesting experiment -- it's set to come out sometime later on this summer.
